More on the YAGay Thing and Links

Some things I've blogged about previously have surfaced again. Without further ado I link you to Writer Beware who is talking about the Google Book Lawsuit which is going to court. And over at The Mary Sue, Aja Romano wrote a great bit about the YAGay thing.

So, I'll add my two cents about the YAGay thing as a parent of a YA Gay. In the recent past, finding books (portraying gay characters) for your YA Gay child, your hetero child, or any child in between was nigh impossible. Finding books currently that portray LGBT characters are out there, yet still difficult to find-- especially in libraries or local bookstores. Most of these book are found online now and most who read them are hooked up through sites like Goodreads. Publishers need to catch up to what the YA audience wants. If they turn on the tv and check out the shows that the YA audience is watching they will find several LGBT characters. Why the publishing industry is not on top of the trends is beyond me-- yet, I am not surprised as the major publishers are missing the boat on several trends.

In other publishing news Smashwords will be attending several conferences and events. You can get details here. Author, Polly Courtney dropped her publisher-- Harper Collins-- at her book launch. Read more at The Guardian. Ms. Courtney is returning to self-publishing.

As Halloween approaches at Chez Andi lots of preparations begin. Mostly because one of my children was born on Halloween and it happens to be one of my most favoritist of holidays. So, today I stumbled on these awesome Jack Skellington cake pops. Last year I was instructed that the birthday festivities could not have any Halloween theme-- I am hoping for a change of heart this year.